1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of translation devices for use with laboratory sampling systems and particularly to remote-operated translation devices for providing two dimensional translation of a sampling system in a vertical plane, in a simple, accurate, independent and reliable manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, translation stages used in remote-operated two dimensional translation slide were constructed in such a manner that the weight of the motor used to translate one stage, would be supported by the other stage. For example, where the translation slide consists of two stages, one mounted vertically over the other, the weight of the motor used to drive the upper stage would result in a load on the lower stage. As the upper stage was driven by the motor or the lower stage was driven by its motor, the distance from where the upper motor was mounted to the lower stage varied. This resulted in an additional load on the lower stage, in addition to the weight of the object being translated, that varied whenever the placement of the two stages with respect to each other changed. It was thus not possible to accurately and simply translate the object of the translation. A complex slide was calculated to correct the desired positional movement of the translation side for the variation of the load placed upon the lower stage by the motor driving the upper stage. This resulted in a long and tedious process of calculations and a longer period of activity was necessary to obtain correct positional translation of the object to the desired location. Further, any such translation table constructed could not heretofore be made as compactly as desired as a unit.
In the laboratory, it is often necessary to perform tests upon a multitude of samples, each of which may be contained in a test tube which is mounted in a circular sample disk. The disk is then rotated until each test has been performed upon each sample. It is frequently desired to provide for adjustment of the samples a small distance (typically a 1/2 inch) in either the X or Y direction or both, to obtain the correct relationship between the samples and the test equipment. Heretofore, the remote-operated translation slide available for this purpose were of such construction to comprise an assembly where the load the upper motor placed on the lower motor had to be constantly calculated in order to attain X-Y translation of at best a minimally acceptable accuracy.
Devices used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,155, disclose a construction where the remotely operated motors are not attached to the translation slide assembly, but are connected to the assembly by conventional means of lead screws for remote operation. While such a construction does indeed place no motor load on the translation slide, the reference does not address or resolve the problem of orthogonal translation in a vertical plane, but merely orthogonal translation in a horizontal plane. Furthermore, maintaining an external drive system a distance away from the translation table does not provide for a compact, simple and inexpensive unit. Thus, there is need for a simple, reliable, independent and accurate remote-operated means for providing an easily controlled X-Y movement capability in a vertical plane.